Prof. Rahman was born on October 1948 in Ogun State, southwestern Nigeria. He was educated at Egbado College in Ilaro, a town in Ogun State. He proceeded to the Polytechnic of Ibadan, where he received an OND in Mechanical Engineering. In 1974, he obtained a Bachelor of science (B.sc) degree in Chemical Engineering with a first class from the Obafemi Awolowo University. He holds a master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo and Doctorate degree (Ph. D) from the same University
A global citizen with administrative and project management acumen, he served as a commissioner in Ogun between 1994 and 1996 and later worked with the United Nations overseeing a project under UNDP/ILO in 16 states.
He was appointed as the acting vice chancellor of the University of Lagos in May 2012 following the sudden death of the then incumbent vice chancellor, Professor Babatunde Adetokunbo Sofoluwe, who died of heart attack in 2012. In November 2012, Rahman was confirmed as the vice chancellor of the university, a position he held till November 2017.
He is a fellow of several professional bodies like the Nigerian Academy of Engineering, Nigerian Society of Engineers, Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers and a COREN registered engineer.